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Gospel Reading - The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹“There was a certain rich man,” Jesus said, “who was splendidly clothed and lived each day in mirth and luxury. ²⁰One day Lazarus, a diseased beggar, was laid at his door. ²¹As he lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. ²²Finally the beggar died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham in the place of the righteous dead.^a The rich man also died and was buried, ²³and his soul went into hell.^b There, in torment, he saw Lazarus in the far distance with Abraham.

²⁴“‘Father Abraham,’ he shouted, ‘have some pity! Send Lazarus over here if only to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in these flames.’

²⁵“But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted and you are in anguish. ²⁶And besides, there is a great chasm separating us, and anyone wanting to come to you from here is stopped at its edge; and no one over there can cross to us.’

²⁷“Then the rich man said, ‘O Father Abraham, then please send him to my father’s home — ²⁸for I have five brothers—to warn them about this place of torment lest they come here when they die.’

²⁹“But Abraham said, ‘The Scriptures have warned them again and again. Your brothers can read them any time they want to.’

³⁰“The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham, they won’t bother to read them. But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will turn from their sins.’

³¹“But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even though someone rises from the dead.’”^c

1. Literally, “into Abraham’s bosom.”
2. Literally, “into Hades.”
3. Even Christ’s resurrection failed to convince the Pharisees, to whom he gave this illustration.